Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Kinder Morgan Operating L.P. “C”
Coal terminal held subject to Mine Act jurisdiction
Kinder Morgan operated a Kentucky terminal that received processed coal by rail and barge, stored it, and used layered loading to prepare shipments for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that the terminal performed the work of preparing coal usually done by a mine operator…
Dacotah Cement
Dismissal vacated for review of mistaken penalty payment
Dacotah Cement timely requested a hearing to contest a proposed penalty, but later paid the assessment to prevent interest from accruing. The company said it paid in error and wanted to continue challenging the penalties and underlying violations. Chairman Jordan and Commissioner Beatty found the…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3529 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Central Region, Irving, Texas (Agency)
Defense Contract Audit Agency and AFGE Local 3529: specialist-assignment proposal nonnegotiable
AFGE Local 3529 proposed assigning technical specialists to home teams and requiring evaluations from each supervisor for whom they worked at least 150 hours. Those evaluations would also have to be used in annual appraisals. The FLRA found that the proposal affected management's right to assign…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3134 (Union) and United States Small Business Administration, Region 2 (Agency)
SBA Region 2 and AFGE Local 3134: delayed-promotion remedy left in place
An arbitrator found that SBA delayed an employee's GS-9 promotion by about four months through a late training-development agreement. She awarded the resulting salary and benefit difference with interest. The union sought additional relief for alleged later delays in GS-11 and GS-12 promotions. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2501 (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Distribution Center, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (Agency)
Defense Logistics Agency and AFGE Local 2501: settlement enforcement award upheld
The union agreed to drop pending grievances and third-party proceedings in exchange for delaying reductions in force affecting a caretaker workforce at the former Memphis defense depot. It nevertheless continued seeking enforcement of an earlier arbitration award whose clarification was pending…
San Benito Aggregates, Inc.
Request to reopen dismissed penalty cases denied
San Benito Aggregates asked to reopen six penalty cases that had already become final Commission orders, arguing that it had faced problems that contributed to the citations and that the penalties would burden its business. Chief Administrative Law Judge David F. Barbour had directed the operator…
R B Coal Company, Inc.
Customer hazard-training citations affirmed
R B Coal operated the Verda Tipple, where about 30 customer truck drivers entered mine property to collect coal. The company agreed to pay the proposed penalties for two citations, while the judge decided a third citation alleging that the drivers had not received hazard training. Judge Gary Melick…
NPDES Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility of Union Township, Michigan
In re NPDES Permit for Wastewater Treatment Facility of Union Township, Michigan (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 00-26 and 00-28): permit review denied
EPA Region V issued Union Township, Michigan, an NPDES permit for a new wastewater treatment plant discharging to the Chippewa River. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality challenged EPA's authority to issue the permit, while the Township challenged requirements to send courtesy copies…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Treasure State Chapter #57 (Union) and United States Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Montana National Guard, Helena, Montana (Agency)
Montana National Guard and ACT Chapter 57: mandatory competitive-selection provision rejected
The union negotiated a provision requiring competitive procedures for most Montana Army National Guard bargaining-unit vacancies, subject to listed exceptions. It did not require the agency to fill a vacancy, but it limited the sources from which management could select if it chose to fill one. The…
Jalco, Inc., and its successors
Three trench-safety citations upheld as violations but each downgraded in severity
Jalco is a utility contractor that was installing a 42-inch water line in Edinburg, Texas. OSHA inspected the trench work and issued three excavation citations: the trench box did not extend 18 inches above the vertical trench wall, the trench floor was dug too far below the bottom of the box, and…
B & R Wholesale Tire Co.
Truss bracing, competent inspection, and forklift platform violations affirmed
B & R Wholesale Tire was building a roofed addition between two company buildings in Youngstown, Ohio, when a group of 80-foot wood trusses collapsed and one worker sustained a minor injury. The judge found that the trusses lacked sufficient temporary and ground bracing and that some bracing was…
Dynatec Mining Corporation
Raise-structure violations partly affirmed and partly reversed
Dynatec was an independent contractor building a raise at the Magma/Superior underground copper mine when MSHA investigated a fatal accident and issued one citation and 13 orders. The Commission upheld a $40,000 penalty for failing to repair or replace damaged ground support and upheld a $20,000…
Jett Black, Inc., Syd H. Levine & Associates, and Syd H. Levine
In re Jett Black, Inc., Syd H. Levine & Associates, and Syd H. Levine (EAB UIC Appeal No. 01-01): remand review dismissed
Jett Black, Inc., Syd H. Levine & Associates, and Syd H. Levine sought review of revised UIC permits issued by EPA Region IV after an earlier EAB remand. They challenged the Region's refusal to approve annulus gel and its decision to retain monitoring of annulus pressure or prohibit an open…
J & C Mining, L.L.C., and Manalapan Mining Company, Inc.
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after settlement
The case arose from Grant Noe Jr.'s discrimination complaint against J & C Mining and Manalapan Mining. An ALJ had concluded that Noe's refusal to transfer shifts was not protected and that the companies had not constructively discharged him under section 105(c)(1) of the Mine Act. While the…
In re R-A-, Respondent
Attorney General vacated Board decision and remanded for reconsideration
The Board considered an asylum claim by a Guatemalan woman who described years of severe physical and sexual abuse by her husband and unsuccessful efforts to obtain protection from Guatemalan authorities. The Board majority held that she had not shown that the abuse was on account of a political…
TXI Operations, LP
Railroad-crossing contest partly granted
TXI Operations ran a sand and gravel plant reached by crossing Union Pacific railroad tracks. After a fatal collision involving a truck driver and a freight train, MSHA cited TXI over its railroad-crossing practices and its failure to notify MSHA immediately. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the…
Bil-Dry Corporation
In re Bil-Dry Corporation (EAB RCRA (3008) Appeal No. 98-4): liability partly reversed, $89,150 penalty assessed
Bil-Dry Corporation operated a Philadelphia facility that manufactured grout, cement patching products, wall and floor coverings, and other consumer products. EPA alleged that Bil-Dry stored hazardous waste without required controls and failed to meet hazardous-waste determination, land-disposal…
In re Miguel DEVISON-Charles, Respondent
Youthful-offender status was not a conviction for immigration purposes
The Board reviewed a Dominican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him removable for a controlled-substance conviction and ordered his removal. The respondent had received youthful-offender treatment in New York after a guilty plea, and was later resentenced to one year in prison…
Idaho Trout Processors, Co.
Hatchery guardrail and processing-machine items vacated, lockout item affirmed
Idaho Trout Processors operated a trout hatchery and a nearby fish-processing plant in Buhl, Idaho. OSHA cited unguarded catwalks over fish runs, but the judge found the hatchery was a separate agricultural establishment and that the general-industry walking-surface standard did not apply. He also…
Decker Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed with leave to amend
The Secretary filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Steven Feagins and other Decker Coal miners, alleging that a bonus plan tied to accident experience discouraged reporting injuries and hazards. Judge Irwin Schroeder held that the complaint did not allege enough facts to show that the plan…
Nu-Waay Enterprises, Inc.
Safety-program, first-aid, and fall-protection citations affirmed after a 24-foot fall
Nu-Waay Enterprises is a small construction company that built an elevated walkway and observation platform at a national wildlife refuge in Mississippi. While a crew was removing the formwork under the finished platform, a stuck I-beam broke loose, catapulting a worker who fell about 24 feet and…
National Association of Government Employees, Local R1-109 (Union) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Connecticut Healthcare System, Newington, Connecticut (Agency)
VA Newington and NAGE Local R1-109: alternative-work-schedule proposal requires bargaining
The VA changed the start times of five administrative health technicians to align their hours with patient services. The union proposed retaining their earlier schedules and using overtime or compensatory time, or alternatively exploring alternative work schedules. The FLRA found the first proposal…
Washington Rock Quarries, Inc.
Summary decision denied
Washington Rock Quarries contested citations and proposed penalties at its Champion Pit. The Secretary asked the judge to decide the case without a hearing, arguing that the respondent filed its answer late and that no material facts were disputed. The judge found that the late answer was covered…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, LLC
Roof-control citation affirmed
U.S. Steel Mining operated the Oak Grove coal mine, where MSHA cited two offset faces that were not supported by roof bolts within five feet of the uncut face. The judge considered whether the condition violated the mine's approved roof control plan after the original citation was amended to allege…
BR&D Enterprises, Inc.
Complaint amendment allowed
BR&D Enterprises operated the BR&D #3 Mine and faced a discrimination complaint filed by the Secretary on behalf of Dewayne York. The company asked the judge to reconsider the denial of its motion to dismiss, arguing that the Secretary’s delay caused economic prejudice through an economic…
William Brown v. National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Brown v. National Steel and Shipbuilding (BRB 00-0419): retraining benefits upheld, part-time wage review required
William Brown developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists while working as a shipfitter. The Board upheld temporary total disability benefits while he attended full-time vocational training under a state program approved by the Labor Department. It also affirmed the judge's finding that his…
Phelps Dodge Corporation (Christmas Facility)
In re Phelps Dodge Corporation, Christmas Facility (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-17): appeal dismissed after the Region withdrew the permit
Phelps Dodge Corporation appealed an NPDES discharge permit issued for its Christmas Facility in Arizona. Before the Board reached the merits, EPA Region IX told the Board it was withdrawing the permit and would write a new one under 40 C.F.R. § 124.6. The Board then ordered Phelps Dodge to show…
James Benjamin v. Container Stevedoring Company
Benjamin v. Container Stevedoring (BRB 00-0414): last noise-exposing employer owes hearing loss benefits
James Benjamin worked as a longshoreman for several employers and had hearing tests in 1991 and 1996 after exposure to injurious noise. Stevedoring Services of America, his last noise-exposing employer, and another party argued that a prior employer should pay for the loss shown by the earlier…
Washington Navy Yard
In re Washington Navy Yard (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 00-2 and 00-3): petitions dismissed under settlement
The U.S. Department of the Navy and the Anacostia Watershed Society petitioned for review of the Washington Navy Yard NPDES permit. EPA Region III filed a notice of settlement and an uncontested motion to dismiss. The Board dismissed the petitions with prejudice as to challenges to the existing…
R.P. Industries, Inc.
Heavy-equipment seat-belt and inoperable-horn violations affirmed
R.P. Industries was clearing and grading a construction site in Florence, Alabama, using scrapers and other heavy equipment. A scraper operator who was not wearing a seat belt was ejected during a traffic-avoidance maneuver and sustained multiple fractures, a punctured lung, and other injuries…
90th Regional Support Command, Little Rock, Arkansas (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1017 (Exclusive Representative/Labor Organization) and Raul Marin (Petitioner/Individual)
90th Regional Support Command: review granted on decertification petition timing
A regional director dismissed an individual employee's decertification petition as outside the filing window applicable when a collective bargaining agreement is in force. The FLRA granted the activity's application for review to consider whether that agreement-bar window applies to individual…
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Navajo Area Indian Health Service, Window Rock, Arizona (Agency) and Laborers International Union of North America, Navajo Nation Health Care Employees Union, Local 1376 (Union)
Navajo Area Indian Health Service and LIUNA Local 1376: monthly premium-pay calculation upheld
Nurses performed regular assignments that extended into scheduled standby shifts, and an earlier final arbitration award granted the difference between overtime and standby premium pay. After remand, the arbitrator found that one month reflected the full cycle of their duties for calculating that…
Brad Valdez and Joshua Valdez v. Crosby & Overton and CIGNA Companies
Valdez v. Crosby & Overton (BRB 99-0960 and 99-0960A): reconsideration of possible credit denied
Brad and Joshua Valdez asked the Board to reconsider a footnote in its earlier death benefits decision. The footnote said the employer might be able to credit an overpayment to Brad against additional benefits due Joshua. The children argued that a rule about crediting a third party settlement…
Riverdale Mills Corporation
Glove-selection and machine-guarding violations affirmed after roller injury
Riverdale Mills manufactured wire mesh at its Northbridge, Massachusetts, plant. An operator's glove or shirt sleeve caught on a sharp wire panel while he fed it into a flattening machine, pulling his hand into the rollers and breaking three fingers. The judge found the company's hand-protection…
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 96 (Union) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District (Agency)
Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh and IFPTE Local 96: relocation petition dismissed
The union proposed conditions for moving employees more than two blocks from their current office, including specified services, facilities, and retention allowances. The agency argued that the proposal restricted its right to determine its organization. The union did not respond to the agency's…
Association of Civilian Technicians, Wichita Air Capitol Chapter (Union) and U.S. Department of Defense, Civilian Personnel Management Service (Agency)
Defense Department and ACT Wichita: nonexclusive candidate-rating plan approved
The union negotiated a crediting plan for rating and ranking candidates for bargaining-unit vacancies. The Defense Department disapproved it as inconsistent with agency promotion rules and management's selection rights. The FLRA construed the plan as nonexclusive: management could develop its own…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3137 (Respondent/Union) and Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Charging Party/Agency)
AFGE Local 3137 and Forest Service: arbitration-fee repudiation complaint dismissed
The Forest Service alleged that AFGE Local 3137 repudiated a contract requiring equal sharing of arbitration expenses by refusing to pay an outstanding balance. The union relied on a side agreement with the arbitrator and grievant making the grievant responsible for the union's share of the merits…
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 121 (Union) and U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (Agency)
Government Printing Office and IBEW Local 121: reconsideration of work-assignment ruling denied
IBEW Local 121 sought reconsideration of a ruling that its proposal to bargain before transferring electricians' work outside the unit was nonnegotiable. The union relied on a court decision about overtime eligibility to argue that the employees should be treated as prevailing-rate employees. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1156 and Laborers' International Union, Local 1170 (Unions) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Inventory Control Point and Defense Logistics Agency, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (Agencies)
Navy and Defense Logistics Agency Mechanicsburg: limited asbestos differential-pay award upheld
Two unions sought asbestos environmental differential pay for all wage-grade bargaining-unit employees at the Mechanicsburg facility. The arbitrator granted relief to four employees but denied it to the others after setting a case-specific exposure threshold and assessing protective measures. The…
Alcoa Alumina & Chemical, L.L.C.
Training orders modified and settlement approved
Alcoa Alumina operated the Bayer Alumina Plant, a milling operation where MSHA found that supervisors and salaried employees had not received required annual refresher or hazard training. The judge found that the plant was covered by Part 48, affirmed two training orders as modified, reduced their…
Social Security Administration (Activity) and American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (Labor Organization/Petitioner/Union)
SSA and AFGE: four legal assistants remain in bargaining unit
SSA sought review of a regional director's decision including four legal assistants in the bargaining unit. Their support work involved personnel litigation, clerical preparation, and access to sensitive case materials. The FLRA held that those duties did not establish confidential-employee status…
Pamela Bridge Pero v. Cyprus Plateau Mining Corporation
Discrimination decision remanded for further consideration
Pamela Bridge Pero was discharged from her human-resources position after raising concerns that Cyprus was falsifying MSHA injury and illness reports and pressuring injured miners to return to work. The Commission held that those complaints related to miners’ safety and health and could qualify as…
United States Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Command, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland (Agency) and United States Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command Headquarters, Patuxent River, Maryland (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1603, AFL-CIO (Union/Petitioner)
Navy Patuxent River and AFGE Local 1603: relocated employees not added without an election
AFGE sought to add 850 relocated Naval Air Systems Command headquarters employees to its existing unit of 1,700 aircraft-division employees without an election. The FLRA held that the relocation was a change warranting consideration of accretion principles, correcting the regional director on that…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity and FEA: interest on delayed teacher pay upheld
Four Defense Education Activity teachers experienced delayed or incorrect payments involving salary and benefits. An arbitrator found violations of the agreement and the established practice of paying employees on the next scheduled payday, and ordered interest plus an audit of amounts owed. The…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity and FEA: interest and audit for delayed pay upheld
Two Defense Education Activity employees were owed wages or benefits but experienced administrative payment delays. The arbitrator ordered backpay with interest and an audit, relying on the agreement and the reasoning of earlier awards involving the same parties. The FLRA found that the identified…
United States Department of Defense, Defense Commissary Agency, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina (Agency) and National Association of Government Employees, Local R5-188 (Union)
Defense Commissary Agency and NAGE Local R5-188: supervisory-detail backpay upheld
A bargaining-unit employee performed duties in a higher-grade supervisory position without receiving the temporary promotion required by the arbitrator's reading of the agreement. The arbitrator awarded backpay and associated benefits under the contract's thirty-day detail provision. The FLRA…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1815 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Army, Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama (Agency)
AFGE Local 1815 and Army Aviation Center (FLRA 0-AR-3310): firefighters receive no extra overtime or night pay
Firefighters at Fort Rucker worked five 18-hour shifts in each two-week pay period, with eight hours of work and ten hours of standby per shift. Their union challenged an award denying additional overtime and night pay. The Authority held that even counting all 90 scheduled hours, the firefighters…
Portable Rock Production Co.
EAJA settlement approved for $13,000
Portable Rock Production applied for fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act in a proceeding formerly associated with WEST 99-309-M. The parties jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement and dismiss the case after payment of $13,000. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement…
John A. Beckner, Jr. v. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Beckner v. Newport News Shipbuilding (BRB 00-0370): special fund relief reversed
John A. Beckner, Jr. received Longshore Act compensation for a 25 percent permanent impairment from work related asbestosis. Newport News Shipbuilding sought Section 8(f) relief, which would limit its compensation liability because of a preexisting disability. The administrative law judge granted…
Agrium Kenai Nitrogen Operations
In re Agrium Kenai Nitrogen Operations (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-31): appeal withdrawn by agreement
Agrium Kenai Nitrogen Operations filed an NPDES appeal contesting a permit provision. Agrium later told the Environmental Appeals Board that it had reached an agreement with the permitting authority concerning that condition. Agrium asked to withdraw the appeal. The Board granted the request and…
Nova Fedrick/AJV, and its successors
Trencher-training citation vacated, vehicle item affirmed without penalty
Nova Fedrick/AJV was installing a fuel pipeline at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. An employee working close to a high-speed trencher was pulled into its cutting mechanism and killed. OSHA alleged that employees had not been instructed to recognize and avoid the hazards of working near the…
North West Handling Systems, Inc., and its successors
Scissor-lift and fall-training violations affirmed, willful items reduced to serious
North West Handling Systems used a scissor lift while relocating warehouse pallet racks in Sandpoint, Idaho. A company installer removed part of the lift's guardrail, provided little safety training to two temporary workers, and used a forklift to push up the lift platform after it stopped rising…
American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 2549 (Union) and United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana, Texas (Agency)
AFGE Prison Locals and FCI Texarkana (FLRA 0-AR-3319): Sunday overtime does not create Sunday premium entitlement
The union sought Sunday premium pay for prison employees whose shifts began at 11:45 p.m. Sunday and ended at 8 a.m. Monday. The first fifteen minutes were scheduled overtime. The Authority upheld the arbitrator’s denial because Sunday premium pay covers non-overtime Sunday hours, and these shifts…
United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Huntington, West Virginia (Agency) and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2344 (Union)
VA Huntington and AFGE Local 2344 (FLRA 0-AR-3293): paid uniform-changing award set aside
An arbitrator ordered the Huntington veterans hospital to pay police officers for ten minutes at each end of their shifts to change uniforms. The agreement covered changing that the agency required or permitted, but the officers were not required to change at work. The parties agreed that changing…
Plateau Mining Corp. (formerly Cyprus Plateau Mining Corporation)
Plateau Mining Corp. (FMSHRC WEST 98-317, WEST 98-191-R, WEST 98-192-R): Dust-control findings reduced
Plateau Mining operated the Willow Creek underground coal mine, where MSHA found that a rebuilt continuous miner had fewer water sprays than the approved ventilation plan required. The judge affirmed the underlying violations but found that the evidence did not establish significant and substantial…
Air Products of Puerto Rico, Inc.
In re Air Products of Puerto Rico, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 00-12): appeal dismissed as moot
Air Products of Puerto Rico, Inc. appealed an individual NPDES permit. The permit was later transferred to a Multi-Sector General Permit, and coverage under that general permit began on November 15, 2000. EPA Region II was also inactivating the individual permit and relieving Air Products of its…
In re Vienna I. OPARAH, Respondent
In re Vienna I. OPARAH (BIA ID 3441): a second motion could not bypass the reopening deadline
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal from the denial of an untimely motion to reopen and a later motion to remand based on the same claim. The respondent had waived appeal of the original Immigration Judge order, making that order final on the date it was entered. The Board held that a motion…
U.S. Department of Defense, Education Activity, Arlington, Virginia (Agency) and Federal Education Association (Union)
Defense Education Activity and Federal Education Association (FLRA 0-AR-3327): new travel-benefit objections barred
An arbitrator ordered the Defense Education Activity to implement an earlier award granting travel benefits to locally hired overseas teachers transferred outside their commuting area within the same geographical locality. The order covered transportation agreements, renewal agreement travel and…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3134 (Union) and United States Small Business Administration, Region 2, New York, New York (Agency)
AFGE Local 3134 and Small Business Administration (FLRA 0-AR-3341): delayed-promotion backpay must include interest
A Small Business Administration employee completed a six-month training program but waited another four months for the promised promotion. An arbitrator found that the delay violated the parties’ agreement and awarded backpay, while denying interest and attorney fees without explanation. The…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1698 (Union) and U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Agency)
AFGE Local 1698 and Navy Inventory Control Point (FLRA 0-AR-3316): promotions through added duties upheld
The union challenged eleven noncompetitive promotions at the Navy’s Philadelphia inventory control point after employees’ positions acquired higher-level duties. The arbitrator found that a longstanding practice accepted by the union modified the agreement and denied the grievance. The Authority…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.